Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo News 2022

[WhistlingKite24]

Melbourne Zoo have been very successful in breeding their Plumed Basilisks since they were imported from Singapore Zoo which came in a shipment with some additional Ball Pythons. 15 surviving basilisks are currently being raised and are due to be distributed to other Australian zoos very soon - confirmed via email.

 

[Zoofan15]

Melbourne Zoo take action against foot and mouth outbreak:

Zoo to protect animals from disease

At this stage, the outbreak doesn't appear to have spread to Australia, with biosecurity measures working effectively; but with calls to close the border, let's hope this doesn't esculate. Needless to say it could have implications for our planned bovid imports.

 

[Simon Hampel]

More from the ABC on the F&M:

Zoos ban public access to popular animals amid foot-and-mouth disease threat

Melbourne Zoo will restrict visitor access to the giraffes, elephants and kangaroos amid fears of a potential foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Australia.

Concerns are high following an outbreak in tourist hotspot Bali.

Last night Zoos Victoria, which runs the Melbourne and Werribee zoos and Healesville Sanctuary, sent a message to members announcing the elephant enclosure's public pathway would be closed out of an "abundance of caution".

The message said the measures were intended to lower the risk of animals coming into contact with "soil that could have potentially been brought in from outside the zoo grounds".

Giraffe, kangaroo and elephant "animal encounters", where tourists and local visitors pay to spend time up close with certain animals, will be "temporality unavailable".

...​

 

[Jambo]

More from the ABC on the F&M:

Zoos ban public access to popular animals amid foot-and-mouth disease threat

Melbourne Zoo will restrict visitor access to the giraffes, elephants and kangaroos amid fears of a potential foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Australia.

Concerns are high following an outbreak in tourist hotspot Bali.

Last night Zoos Victoria, which runs the Melbourne and Werribee zoos and Healesville Sanctuary, sent a message to members announcing the elephant enclosure's public pathway would be closed out of an "abundance of caution".

The message said the measures were intended to lower the risk of animals coming into contact with "soil that could have potentially been brought in from outside the zoo grounds".

Giraffe, kangaroo and elephant "animal encounters", where tourists and local visitors pay to spend time up close with certain animals, will be "temporality unavailable".

...​

The Giraffes i'm not so sure, but it's understandable for the Kangaroos and Elephants (both of which have access to visitor paths - for those wondering, the elephants travel across a point in the path when a gate opens).

Fingers crossed none of the animals get infected though, and them and the keepers manage to stay safe.

 

[Zoofan15]

Female New Zealand fur seal dies:

Feisty came to Melbourne Zoo in 2014.

Her death takes the zoo’s New Zealand fur seal population to 0.1.

From socials:

Melbourne Zoo is sad to announce the passing of Feisty the New Zealand Fur Seal, who has lived at the Zoo’s Wild Sea precinct with her fellow seals since 2014.

Feisty’s keepers and Melbourne Zoo Vets have been caring for Feisty intensively over recent months, as she has experienced a series of intestinal and bowel problems and significant weight loss. Feisty had undergone several surgeries this year, and specialist surgeons examined her yesterday and recommended euthanasia as the most humane welfare decision. Feisty’s keepers will fondly remember her for her strong personality and for being one of the smartest seals we’ve ever worked with.

 

[Jambo]

Female New Zealand fur seal dies:

Feisty came to Melbourne Zoo in 2014.

Her death takes the zoo’s New Zealand fur seal population to 0.1.

From socials:

Melbourne Zoo is sad to announce the passing of Feisty the New Zealand Fur Seal, who has lived at the Zoo’s Wild Sea precinct with her fellow seals since 2014.

Feisty’s keepers and Melbourne Zoo Vets have been caring for Feisty intensively over recent months, as she has experienced a series of intestinal and bowel problems and significant weight loss. Feisty had undergone several surgeries this year, and specialist surgeons examined her yesterday and recommended euthanasia as the most humane welfare decision. Feisty’s keepers will fondly remember her for her strong personality and for being one of the smartest seals we’ve ever worked with.

That's devastating news.

She was an athletic and intelligent seal, and will be greatly missed.

On my last two visits, I did notice her not doing well - she was spending a lot of time on land, just resting. I asked a keeper and she did tell me Feisty was quite unwell, but at that point in time she was slowly recovering from one of her surgeries. The keeper hoped for a full recovery but unfortunately that was not to be the case.

Rest in Peace, Fiesty.

Long Nosed Fur Seal

• Jambo
• 5 Jul 2022
• 1

Taken from my visit 05/07/2022

 

[Zoofan15]

That's devastating news.

She was an athletic and intelligent seal, and will be greatly missed.

On my last two visits, I did notice her not doing well - she was spending a lot of time on land, just resting. I asked a keeper and she did tell me Feisty was quite unwell, but at that point in time she was slowly recovering from one of her surgeries. The keeper hoped for a full recovery but unfortunately that was not to be the case.

Rest in Peace, Fiesty.

Long Nosed Fur Seal

• Jambo
• 5 Jul 2022
• 1

Taken from my visit 05/07/2022

She reached a good age for a fur seal. Auckland Zoo’s three New Zealand fur seals died in their mid teens, with their remaining Subantarctic fur seal now in his late teens.

It’s a real shame more aren’t bred within the region’s zoos. Taronga bred their first New Zealand fur seal pups since the 90’s in 2020 and despite acquiring several young fur seals, Auckland decided not to breed citing capacity issues (and are now phasing out pinnipeds).

 

[Jambo]

She reached a good age for a fur seal. Auckland Zoo’s three New Zealand fur seals died in their mid teens, with their remaining Subantarctic fur seal now in his late teens.

It’s a real shame more aren’t bred within the region’s zoos. Taronga bred their first New Zealand fur seal pups since the 90’s in 2020 and despite acquiring several young fur seals, Auckland decided not to breed citing capacity issues (and are now phasing out pinnipeds).

She was about in her mid to late teens. She was found stranded in Esperance, Western Australia in March 2007. At the time she was only very small, weighing just a tiny 6kg. From there, she was rehabilitated at Seaworld before being flown down to Melbourne in 2014.

Taronga interestingly keep their breeding females of Long Nosed Fur Seal and Australian Fur Seal together. It was really interesting to see the female Australian Fur Seal pup interacting with the Long Nosed Fur Seal pup on my last visit.

 

[Zoofan15]

Taronga interestingly keep their breeding females of Long Nosed Fur Seal and Australian Fur Seal together. It was really interesting to see the female Australian Fur Seal pup interacting with the Long Nosed Fur Seal pup on my last visit.

The females are gregarious and can easily be kept together. Auckland’s fur seals were additionally held with a female California sea lion and a castrated bull. They all got on amicably, though it was noticeable the fur seals avoided the water area when the sea lion were alive (remaining on the rocks). Following the deaths of the sea lions, I saw the fur seals (now just one) in the water on most of my visits - including the last three.

 

[Alby]

Female New Zealand fur seal dies:
Feisty came to Melbourne Zoo in 2014.
Her death takes the zoo’s New Zealand fur seal population to 0.1.

Oh that is sad to hear. Recently I spent a fair while at the underwater window, watching a single seal loop around and around the tank - as it had several patches on its body I asked a keeper about it, and was told the seal had had surgery. So I guess that was Feisty. At least she looked content that day. I didn’t actually realise there were two species kept at Melbourne, but looking at the 2020-21 inventory (looking forward to the new one being released soon, I hope), I see 0.3 for the NZ fur seal, so what happened to the other one, given that they’re now down to 0.1?

Also, as this is my first post - Hi folks! I got myself a membership for Zoos Vic a couple of months ago for the first time in a very long while, and I'm really enjoying having the time to dig in and get to know the animals species by species, individual by individual, the history, the breeding stories, the transfers to and from other zoos etc etc. And this forum has been an invaluable discovery, I really appreciate the depth of knowledge (and enthusiasm) people share here. You’ll probably be seeing me a bit in here from now on.

 

[Zoofan15]

Oh that is sad to hear. Recently I spent a fair while at the underwater window, watching a single seal loop around and around the tank - as it had several patches on its body I asked a keeper about it, and was told the seal had had surgery. So I guess that was Feisty. At least she looked content that day. I didn’t actually realise there were two species kept at Melbourne, but looking at the 2020-21 inventory (looking forward to the new one being released soon, I hope), I see 0.3 for the NZ fur seal, so what happened to the other one, given that they’re now down to 0.1?

Also, as this is my first post - Hi folks! I got myself a membership for Zoos Vic a couple of months ago for the first time in a very long while, and I'm really enjoying having the time to dig in and get to know the animals species by species, individual by individual, the history, the breeding stories, the transfers to and from other zoos etc etc. And this forum has been an invaluable discovery, I really appreciate the depth of knowledge (and enthusiasm) people share here. You’ll probably be seeing me a bit in here from now on.

Welcome to ZooChat @Alby. That’s good you got to see Feisty one last time before her passing. Melbourne Zoo had two female New Zealand fur seals in February 2021, so the third female must have passed just prior to be included in the 2020 inventory.

ZooChat is a great forum and there’s a wealth of information to be found here. I’ll attach a link to species lists for Melbourne and other zoos in the region: ZAA Species List Index

 

[Alby]

Thanks @Zoofan15 - and thanks for the link, that's a great resource.

It's been a quick (and fairly obvious when you think about it) discovery that once you follow a zoo closely, animal deaths will be regular news, and normal too, though always sad once you've spent some time absorbing the charisma of these critters. For instance, the siamangs are a current favorite of mine (see avatar pic!) and I realised in my researching that Isidor is getting to a good old age for his species. Touch wood and all that, he sure seems full of vigour, but you have to visit and watch them all while you can!

 

[Zoofan15]

Thanks @Zoofan15 - and thanks for the link, that's a great resource.

It's been a quick (and fairly obvious when you think about it) discovery that once you follow a zoo closely, animal deaths will be regular news, and normal too, though always sad once you've spent some time absorbing the charisma of these critters. For instance, the siamangs are a current favorite of mine (see avatar pic!) and I realised in my researching that Isidor is getting to a good old age for his species. Touch wood and all that, he sure seems full of vigour, but you have to visit and watch them all while you can!

You’re welcome. I’m glad you found it useful.

Like you say, death in an inevitable part of zoo life. With the exception of a few long lived species (apes, elephants etc). it’s not uncommon to see a social grouping change within the space of a decade or two as animals pass on and new ones are born. For example, Auckland Zoo’s current lion pride are the great grandchildren of two of the lions that arrived at Auckland Zoo in the late 1990’s; while their Sumatran tigress is the grandaughter of a tigress that lived at Auckland Zoo in the late 1990’s.

Isidor the Siamang is doing well. He’s the fourth eldest in the region at 39 years of age - behind the male at Willowbank and the pair at Mogo.

 

[Alby]

You’re welcome. I’m glad you found it useful.

Isidor the Siamang is doing well. He’s the fourth eldest in the region at 39 years of age - behind the male at Willowbank and the pair at Mogo.

Thanks, good to know. Their lifespan seems to vary a lot, from what I can find - and I've just discovered that Cho Cho at Port Defiance recently died at 55 (which I know you know as you posted it elsewhere)! And thanks for the lion info, I could really get lost in following the breeding family trees...

 

[Zoofan15]

Thanks, good to know. Their lifespan seems to vary a lot, from what I can find - and I've just discovered that Cho Cho at Port Defiance recently died at 55 (which I know you know as you posted it elsewhere)! And thanks for the lion info, I could really get lost in following the breeding family trees...

No problem. And here’s a link to population lists for several individual species within Australasia if you’re interested: Australasian Population List Index

 

[Jambo]

Also, as this is my first post - Hi folks! I got myself a membership for Zoos Vic a couple of months ago for the first time in a very long while, and I'm really enjoying having the time to dig in and get to know the animals species by species, individual by individual, the history, the breeding stories, the transfers to and from other zoos etc etc. And this forum has been an invaluable discovery, I really appreciate the depth of knowledge (and enthusiasm) people share here. You’ll probably be seeing me a bit in here from now on.

Welcome to zoochat @Alby. I too am a frequent visitor of Melbourne, so it's great to have another member perhaps with some different insight on Melbourne's animals.

Welcome to ZooChat @Alby. That’s good you got to see Feisty one last time before her passing. Melbourne Zoo had two female New Zealand fur seals in February 2021, so the third female must have passed just prior to be included in the 2020 inventory.

Regarding their seals they only ever had five:

Tarwin (Aus)
Iha (NZ)
Fiesty (NZ)
Bella (Aus)

There was of course a fifth (who's name evades me), who was the other NZ fur seal. All five were girls, and now, of course two remain (Iha and Bella).

Also, @Alby feel free to check out my species list for Melbourne which I only recently updated earlier this month:

Melbourne Zoo Species List [Melbourne Zoo]

 

[Alby]

Welcome to zoochat @Alby. I too am a frequent visitor of Melbourne, so it's great to have another member perhaps with some different insight on Melbourne's animals.

Regarding their seals they only ever had five:

Tarwin (Aus)
Iha (NZ)
Fiesty (NZ)
Bella (Aus)

There was of course a fifth (who's name evades me), who was the other NZ fur seal. All five were girls, and now, of course two remain (Iha and Bella).

Also, @Alby feel free to check out my species list for Melbourne which I only recently updated earlier this month:

Melbourne Zoo Species List [Melbourne Zoo]

Oh that’s great, thanks for the pointer, I’d found that earlier but hadn’t realised there were updates down the thread. Appreciate the clarification on the seals too. This place is a bounty of information but takes a bit of orientation to locate what you need! Speaking of which, thanks @Zoofan15 for that Population List Index link.

 

[Zoofan15]

This place is a bounty of information but takes a bit of orientation to locate what you need! Speaking of which, thanks @Zoofan15 for that Population List Index link.

I find the search function (top right) really useful if I’m looking for something particular e.g. information on a specific individual. You can even search by date which is helpful.

As a general rule, we keep the news threads (arranged by faciltiy and year) for high profile news (you’ll never find some drivel about the petting zoo getting a new chicken); then the population thread authors take anything they think is useful to update their population threads and discussions result from both of these updates.

 

[Alby]

There was of course a fifth (who's name evades me), who was the other NZ fur seal.

Pania, it looks like?

 

[Zoofan15]

Pania, it looks like?

Good find!

I visited Marineland in Napier shortly before it closed and enjoyed seeing all the California sea lions and New Zealand fur seals they had there. They bred a number of both species over the decades and several were distributed to Sea World, Melbourne and Taronga.

Pania was born at Marineland 16/12/2005; while Iha, the other female sent from Marineland to Melbourne was a wild rescue. She was taken in by Marineland in June 2007 and was likely born the previous December.